This was contained in a statement by ICPC spokesperson, Mrs. Azuka Ogugua, on Saturday night, adding that the agents were caught with both Naira and CFA notes.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, has arrested four political party agents for vote-buying in Sokoto and Katsina states during the governorship and House of Assembly elections.
This was contained in a statement by ICPC spokesperson, Mrs. Azuka Ogugua, on Saturday night, adding that the agents were caught with both Naira and CFA notes.
According to her, ICPC in its election monitoring operations across the country, officers of the anti-corruption agency encountered some vote-buyers at Kauran Miyo Primary School in Bodingo town of Bodinga Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
The Sokoto State Monitoring Team of the Commission arrested three male vote-buyers – Mahe Bello, Musa Adamu and Mustapha Mohammed, all of Kauran Miyo Bodinga.
The statement revealed that Mahe Bello was caught in possession of a cash sum of N38,000, two PVCs, one ATM card and an Infinix phone while Musa Adamu had CFA 228,000 in his possession which was being offered to voters. The third suspect, Mustapha Mohammed, was arrested with some PVCs in his possession.
While carrying out the arrest of the three vote-buyers, Ogugua said the ICPC Monitoring Team came under attack and an officer of the Commission, Rabiu Ibrahim, suffered a head injury from being hit with stones. She added that he had been admitted to a hospital and he is in a stable condition.
“The three voters were kept in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) before being conveyed to ICPC’s detention facility in Sokoto,” the statement noted.
In a related development, the ICPC Katsina State Election Monitoring Team arrested one Tanimu Tabale for vote-buying at Tashar Yamma Polling Unit in Zango Local Government Area of the State.
Tabale, a 35-year-old man, claimed he was an observer in Makama Polling Unit but was arrested at Tashar Yamma Polling Unit with the sum of twenty thousand naira (N20,000.00) in different denominations attempting to buy the votes of the electorate.